Blackpool Comic Con

Blackpool's first ever Comic Con took place on Saturday 12th. I bought a ticket some time ago. I also THOUGHT I bought tickets to meet Hollywood actor Michael Madsen and Actress Nancy Allen. It seems I did not. Ms Allen cancelled due to a bad back, so I THOUGHT I had credit for another signing. So. I drove down early to beat the queue. I was not early enough.

I reckon I was in that queue for about an hour. Maybe 2. I got through the door of Winter Gardens at 12:25. Honestly I thought that the organisers weren't ready for the numbers that were coming, even though a pre-purchased ticket was required to get through the door so they must have had an idea from their sales. The building itself was large enough, being 12 interconnected venues.

The first person I stumbled across was Dickie Beer, a stuntman from Return of the Jedi et al. A tenner for a picture with him, on my own camera. Okay then.

I realised after this that I should have drawn out more cash before getting in. I asked a security guard at a fire exit and he gave me a wristband. I then forgot which door I'd gone out through. When I came back with a loaded wallet, I came back to the front door and security told me to queue up again. No. I kept wandering the perimeter until I found the same door and guard and got back in, much to my relief.

Once I was back in though, it wasn't long before I was hunted down by a giant intergalactic Rastafarian.

To the rescue: Marvel's Miss America, portrayed by Kristen Huey.

I then nearly got stomped by Titan the Robot 

Here he is kicking off with Thor.

Found a few Terminator busts

and then waited for HOURS for the Michael Madsen signing. To my dismay EVERYONE had tickets except me. I searched my phone for confirmation and couldn't find a thing.

I looked for any confirmation of payment I could find, but there was nothing. So I took this sly shot (zoom in, it's the guy in the camo jacket)...

...and drove back.

I checked my bank on return and it seems I just totally forgot to actually make the payment for the signings. Fuck's sake. I could have used the credit from the cancelled Nancy Allen shoot to meet Verne Troyer instead. Had I actually made the payment in the first place. Oh well.

A full list of the guests on the day (including actors and actresses from Game of Thrones and Dr Who) is here.

Anyway. It was a great event, and I believe the first time the event has been ran in Blackpool. I think things would have been more streamlined if all signings and photoshoots could have been paid for on the day with either cash or chip and pin. A few organisational issues aside (queue in was biblical, going out required a wristband that security seemed to disagree about, and I couldn't even find the movie cars- KITT from Knight Rider, Batmobile, Delorean- ), it was a good first go for the Comic Con team.